According to Entertainment Weekly, fans are finally going to get the chance to see Jack Sawyer and Parkus (or Speedy Parker, if you prefer) venture across the Territories to save Queen Laura DeLoessian in a big screen version of Stephen King’s popular dark fantasy novel The Talisman which was co-written by Ghost Story author Peter Straub. Released in 1984, The Talisman has long been discussed as a potential film but, like many of King’s books, the length is always an issue. At 921 pages, The Talisman was King’s longest novel until he released an uncut edition of The Stand which went from 823 pages to 1,152.

EW reports that Mike Barker (The Handmaid’s Tale, Shattered) has been brought on to direct the massive project which is being produced by Amblin Partners and the Kennedy/Marshall Company. Chris Sparling (Buried) will be scripting the film.

Steven Spielberg’s name has long been in the mix and he’s discussed his desire to bring The Talisman to the screen but it has never happened. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to see come to theaters for the last 35 years,” he told Entertainment Weekly last year. No casting news as of yet but we will update you as soon as they become available.

Well, here’s to hoping that they learn from the mistakes of The Dark Tower.